Q&A with a feng shui master

Szeto Fat-ching is the feng shui master who has now set up an association to
regulate the supernatural industry.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

7:30AM GMT 08 Mar 2011

How did you become a feng shui master?

I became interested in Daoism from an early age, but until I was 30 my business was buying and selling taxi licenses. I made quite a lot of money, but in the 1980s the government cracked down on the trade and I almost went bankrupt.

I went to the Philippines, where I considered the nature of life and loss. Then I went to Macau, where I met a top commander of the People’s Liberation Army and started offering feng shui consultancy to casinos. I met Stanley Ho [the gambling tycoon] who is still a client.

I returned to Hong Kong in 2000, having built my reputation in Macau. I became famous after being the first feng shui master to give expert witness in court and I started my own television show. That was very popular. I also offer consultancies to Chinese companies coming on to the stock market.

Why do all feng shui masters have a different way of practicing the art?

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It is like law. Lawyers all study the theory of the law, and then they apply it in different ways. We will judge our members by their success rate, and then by their reputation.

Why is it that so many rich people in Hong Kong are interested in feng shui?

There is definitely a danger that feng shui is seen only as a rich man's club. The four most famous practitioners in Hong Kong do not respond to contact from common people. But through our association, we can give the general public access, and a special rate. We can offer consultations for only 80p to £1.20 per square inch of your home.

Why do rich people take such an interest?

They are never satisfied. We say, feng shui can help people who have nothing to get something. And people who have something to get more.

Feng Shui masters try to restore their mystique

The mysterious Chinese art of feng shui, which its adherents believe can deliver phenomenal wealth, has come under fire in Hong Kong after a string of sex scandals and frauds.